This is not a praise Cam thread, just a question.

[teeray]

I wanted him from the outset, knew he was the right pick and told folks he would be great for us. Turns out I was right all along and after Sunday the rest of you now agree. Welcome to the bandwagon. It is going to be an epic ride.

This. P55 is one of the "Original Nuthuggers" A small group of rough and tumble Huddlers that have been on the Cam Newton bus when people were still trying to say that Cam Newton shouldn't even be a first round pick. :driving:

We took a lot of shots early but we persevered and fought the good fight :p.

[tiger7_88]

LSU fan here, I disliked Cam Newton for obvious reasons. I was dead set on Patrick Peterson, also for obvious reasons.

Well, at least if the Panthers had drafted PP7, he wouldn't have had to TRY to cover Steve Smith this last weekend. :lol:

[PanthersPhan18]

Wanted Dareus, still want Dareus. One good profromace in a losing game isn't going to change my mind. The problem is we really wont know until 4 or 5 years from now. Houston was right in picking Williams over Young & Bush. Remember the heat they took? Most people/fans thought they were stupid. Hows it looking now?

Go ahead, flame away.

If he plays well this year and next year as well, I think that maybe enough for us to think he's for real.

[tiger7_88]

In all honesty, everyone isn't going to like Cam but the level of hate that was generated around him while he was in college and perpetuated by the media after, seem to reach Mike Vick, he murdered dogs, level of hate. Don't know why it seem so easy to build such an atmosphere of blind hate with some people regardless of what they do or didn't do.

When people WANT to hate, any excuse will do.

[Bj-Monster23]

Im not going to lie to anybody but, I wanted Cam the whole time even though when Andrew Luck was going through his decision process on weather to stay at Stanford or leave. When i first saw this guy on espn the highlights were off the chart. I looked at him as been to good to be true and there is no way he could keep it up the whole collegiate season. But damn I was wrong, after he entered the draft people start ripping him apart like Mcshay and other's so I kind of moved to Dareus and Von miller side a little bit. The season is not over and I'm not on the high horse, I need to see a lil bit more.

[section543]

Never hated Cam. I was hoping we would get some trade offers so we could fill multiple holes. Since that didnt happen, I was OK with Cam since he could fill multiple roles IF he could play- he is a leader, has star power, and would give us some excitement WHILE WE ARE REBUILDING.

[panthers55]

First, I'm pissed. I just typed all of this out only to have my computer lock up before I submitted it, so this isn't what it should've been.

Cam's passing motion is not "mechanically correct", and it needs more work for his own safety and longevity. It's still a little too upright when he passes, which causes his front leg (left leg) to remain straight because his body's leaning back, which isn't a fluid position. Two problems. First, even though he has a strong arm, it causes his throw to be mostly arm, instead of body and arm, which over the long-haul, is going to wear his arm down more quickly. He throws a dart now, but if he stepped forward into a bent-knee-lunged pass, it'd be even "zippier".

Secondly, his left leg being straight instead of the normal, slightly-bent, mini-lunge position, is more of a safety risk for him. Defenders bust through the line or come around the edge falling all the time, or push O-linemen down trying to get to the QB, and many times they fall into the QB's legs. You're much more likely to get injured if that front leg is straight, than if it's bent at the knee.

Cam's throwing motion is closer to Brady's than most QB's...clearly a good QB...but Cam's is unorthodox. His front leg is "straight" on many passes. Brady has a little bit of bend, but less than most QB's, and the same thing happened to him a few years ago when a defender fell into that leg. Still, overall, Brady has always had a better pass-protecting O-line than the one Cam currently does, so it's not as much of an issue for him.

Just an observation.

So we have a thread which asks who had it wrong when they didn't want Newton but are willing to admit they were wrong and instead you give a nitpicking analysis of the bend in his leg and the fact his mechanics aren't picture perfect. First your post is out of context but not unusual for the huddle but more to the point doesn't prove or suggest anything.

Using golf or basketball as examples, there are many great players who are not mechanically perfect who still are very effective. For example one of the greatest golfers of all time, Arnold Palmer, had a terrible swing from a mechanics point of view but was highly effective despite it. It didn't matter how he swung as long as the ball went where he intended, the result was the same. Look at Tiger Woods when he was in his prime. He was reported to have great mechanics but in spite of that has reengineered his swing at least 2 times I know of maybe more.

In basketball the object of the game is to put the ball in the basket. It doesn't matter how you shoot it as long as it goes in the basket. Players don't always shoot the ball exactly correct and not all players shoot it exactly the same but it gets there just the same and that is the point.

The point is that perfect mechanics are often overrated. Sure you have to have decent mechanics but a slight bend in your leg position or lack of bend is hardly worth worrying about. The fact Brady had a straighter knee than Manning for example is not the reason he hurt his knee and Peyton didn't. What exact mechanic caused Manning to have neck issues and Brady didn't?? Truth is that it doesn't matter , it was the huge guy who crashed into it that hurt it. I doubt you can make a credible case that if his knee was bent an inch more that he wouldn't have been hurt. Or that launching more forward to put more zip on the ball is necessary for Cam at this point. His size and strength means he can get away with less than perfect mechanics and still get the job done. After all his best pass is the deep ball where your supposed issues would seem to be a bigger concern not less. In 10 years when he starts to slow down and loses a step or isn't as strong, he can make the adjustments then. And yes players often tweak things as their career develops to fix issues and sometimes to correct "bad habits" which can develop over time or to account for the inevitable changes that occur with age or injury.

The other things you don't address, for example, is that strength and muscle mass mitigate the injury factor to bones and ligaments. Brady is not particularly strong or durable and is already more likely to be injured than Newton who is bigger and much stronger. Plus Brady is not mobile while Newton is very mobile. Cam might get hurt from the backside but I doubt he gets hurt from the front side where he can see it coming.

And no I am not going to argue for 20 pages about this. If I wanted to do that I would go back to the thread beating up the pass to Goodson. I am just making an observation about your observation saying I don't agree with your conclusions. As for your analysis about his throwing motion, I subscribe to the theory that how you throw it, is very secondary to whether it gets there and as long as the result is good, it doesn't really matter.

On another note I don't remember threads on Jake's throwing motion or Buerelein's or other QBs other than Clausen because his sidearm throws got knocked down so often. This issue seems way overblown to me.

[spartan_pantherfan]

I was yelling at people in a bar about getting Newton before Luck even deicded to go back to school, everyone laughed then.....

[panthers55]

For the record I wanted Newton before I even heard about Luck and frankly wasn't unhappy when he stayed in school. Frankly I think that when things are all said and done Newton will have as productive a career as Luck will. By the draft next year, Newton will be further along than Luck will be, given his time in his league and his ability to pick things up so quickly. Frankly if I had to choose between them knowing what I know right now, I would pick Newton in a heart beat.

[flpantherfan32137]

I initially bought into the Luck hype. Actually I still think he will likely be an awesome NFL QB someday. However, after he didn't declare, i began to lean towards Green. I wanted offense and figured that we could give JC one more shot at qb. After, hearing that the Panthers were leaning towards Cam, I began to learn more about him and discovered what a winner he was. Knowing our need to energize the fan base and that it isnt every year that you have a chance to draft a franchise qb, I jumped on the Newton train and have been supporting him every since he was drafted. I am now happy with the pick. Initially i was hoping for another bad season or lockout so that we could get that 'once in a generation qb' as the talking heads have called him. I love Cam now and will support him and believe in him even if he sucks this weekend.